The TechMobility Podcast
Welcome to The TechMobility Podcast, your ultimate source for authentic insights, news, and perspectives at the nexus of mobility and technology. We're all about REAL FACTS, REAL OPINIONS, and REAL TALK! From personal privacy to space hotels, if it moves or moves you, we're discussing it! Our weekly episodes venture beyond the conventional, offering a unique, unfiltered take on the topics that matter. We're not afraid to color outside the lines, and we believe you'll appreciate our bold approach!
The TechMobility Podcast
Data Vultures, Nuclear Energy, Clean Water Heroes, and Self-Driving Amazon Cars
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When technology evolves faster than legislation, who protects your privacy? This episode dives deep into the concerning world of automatic license plate readers operated by companies like Flock Safety, which are collecting data on your movements without consent or oversight. We expose how law enforcement agencies have been caught circumventing state laws to conduct nationwide searches—a wake-up call about the urgent need for comprehensive data protection in America.
As our power grid strains under growing demands from data centers and AI technologies, nuclear energy is getting a second look. We explore the Department of Energy's fast-tracking of advanced nuclear reactor designs, particularly small modular reactors (SMRs) that promise safer, more affordable nuclear power. While companies like Elo Atomics partner with the government on promising innovations, we ask the hard questions about safety protocols and waste storage that remain unresolved.
Half of humanity experiences severe water scarcity for at least one month each year—a staggering statistic that demands innovative solutions. We explore breakthrough desalination technologies from companies developing submerged systems that leverage natural ocean pressure to produce clean water with 40% less energy than conventional methods. This approach could transform water access globally, though questions remain about large-scale environmental impacts.
The race for autonomous vehicle dominance accelerates as Amazon enters the robotaxi arena after acquiring Zoox for $1.3 billion. With plans to launch in Las Vegas and scale to 10,000 vehicles annually, they're challenging Waymo's established presence in San Francisco, Austin, and Phoenix. We break down why Texas and Arizona have become hotbeds for autonomous vehicle development, and why even industry leaders face a long road to profitability despite billions in investment.
These technological frontiers are reshaping our world in profound ways. Whether the subject is your personal data, our energy future, access to clean water, or how we'll move through cities tomorrow, the tension between innovation and responsibility remains at the heart of each conversation. Join us at The TechMobility Podcast as we navigate these challenges and more!
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Speaker 2:I'm Ken Chester On the docket Nuclear Energy's Big Mo, a fix for more clean water and Amazon's RoboTaxi Push. From the TechMobility News Desk. This one is fresh from the desk. Regular listeners know that for the longest time, one of the touchstones of this program is personal privacy, big data, what they are doing with data, the lack of protections for the average citizen and just what's going on out there. A few weeks ago, I told you about a company called Flock Safety, and Flock operates a company that has what they call automatic license plate readers that are all over the place, in fact, most places. You don't even know that your information, your license plate, is being recorded Without your permission, without your knowledge, that data is being aggregated and sold, in some cases to law enforcement, as well as other companies that will, third parties that will do whatever. Marketing statistics whatever, but it's being sold. You're the product. Statistics whatever, but it's being sold. You're the product. The reason why I'm bringing this up again is this is from 404 Media, which is one of the many sources that I reach out to for news and information, because there is so much going on in the world that you can't that the mainstream media just doesn't even begin to cover everything going on and that's why you have me, because I'm out there looking and I'm turning over trade publications and industry magazines and all kinds of newsletters and things with information that will help you. Here's the title Flock removes states from national lookup tool after ICE and abortion searches revealed. I'm not going to get political, but here's my question. I am on record of saying that once you have a tool like what Flock has, what prevents anybody working for the company with an agenda, even if Flock means well, even if Flock says we're going to follow the law which, by the way, flock said that they do, but there is no law requiring Flock to do that and there is no teeth if they don't, there's no consequences for them. But what Flock found out is that their information that they have accumulated and made available to various agencies across the country was being misused outside of the guidelines they had set, outside, in some cases, of state law where it originated, and the agencies trying to use it were breaking state law in their states by trying to reach national. So, as a result, in some jurisdictions Flock has actually turned that access off.
Speaker 2:This is my point. It has nothing to do with the political stripe, so let's put that aside for a minute. This is not a how you feel about either one of those subjects. That's not where I'm going. Where I'm going is the fact that when you have an aggregate of information like that and, by the way, may I remind you, the flock was developing a tool that used data captured in data breaches, data captured in data breaches so, even as your data was being unlocked unlawfully, they're scraping it to use Because, again, remember, there are no federal, nationwide laws in the United States of America that prevents them from doing it. When it comes to big data, you'd have to trip across really, really consumer protection laws, but that's more for a transactional. It's more transaction, whether it's banking or making a purchase or making a claim. This does not fall into that.
Speaker 2:My issue, my sole issue, in bringing this up and sharing it with you today, is the fact that exactly what I was afraid was going to happen is happening. People are using this information and misusing this information outside of the parameters in which it was established and made available nationwide for any law enforcement or any type of agency like that to use it or any type of agency like that to use it, and in cases because, again, no federal laws. Some of these agencies are actually breaking laws in their own states by accessing the information the way that they did. I'm not okay with that and that is not. Again, it's not political, it's not. I'm not on the subject. I'm on the data. Who is manipulating the data? Who has access to this information? What are the guidelines and who is the keeper? Who is the monitor? Who's looking over their shoulder, policing themselves? And that may be okay for the people who are currently running the company, and as long as it doesn't go against their business model.
Speaker 2:But what happens when laws or principles or ethics come up against making a buck? Then what? Again, remember no federal laws regarding big data and what they can do and what they can't do. That's my question, that's my concern and it should be yours too, because everybody has a right to privacy. Everybody has a right to be a private citizen. Key there word private citizen. Long as you're law abiding in America, you should have the ability to go and come as you please mind your business, pay your bills, work, love your family and go and come. I'm not okay with Big Brother. Never was, never was. Let me give you the specific example, because I'm ranting. Now I want to give you the specific example.
Speaker 2:I'm going to read this paragraph from 404 Media Flock, the automatic license plate reader company with a presence in thousands of communities across the United States, has stopped agencies across the country from searching cameras inside of Illinois, california and Virginia Agencies Federal I'm not federal, but governmental agencies. Agencies federal I'm not federal, but governmental agencies. The dramatic moves come after 404 media revealed local police departments were repeatedly performing lookups around the country. On behalf of ICE, A Texas officer searched cameras nationwide for a woman who self-administered an abortion, and lawmakers recently signed a new law in Virginia. Ordinarily, floc allows agencies to opt into a national lookup database where agencies in one state can access data collected in another, as long as they also share their data. This practice what they were doing violates multiple state laws which bar the sharing of automatic license plate reader data out of state, or it's being accessed for immigration or health care purposes. That's Virginia. Law enforcement was going against the law passed by people who were elected by the people to represent them in stuff like this.
Speaker 2:Again, I am not talking about immigration. I'm not talking about immigration. I'm not talking about abortion. That's not what this conversation is about. What I'm talking about is the access. I'm talking about the access that these agencies could go around their own states, search nationwide for something they're trying to do locally, but they're going nationwide, which means somebody in Texas, if you live, say I don't know Iowa own states, search nationwide for something they're trying to do locally, but they're going nationwide, which means somebody in Texas, if you live, say I don't know Iowa can be nosing around to find out stuff about you which may or may not be pertinent, because there's no search warrant required. They could go just poking around for whatever vague reason they want to use.
Speaker 2:Right now, flock cut this because it was brought up. They had their own diagnostic tools, they ran diagnostics, but again, this is leaning on the decency of the folks currently controlling this data, running this company. That makes me nervous, because there are no checks and balances and your data is just out there in the wild. That, theoretically, I mean, even if Flock and even if everybody at Flock was good, it's still because it's all in one place could be hacked. Another issue we don't know how robust their information protection systems are. Again, no laws, no liability. We don't know. And that's the kind of stuff that concerns me, which is why I wanted to share it with you, to make you aware of what was going on. We need protection. America's thirst for electricity has spawned a boomlet for nuclear power. You are listening to the Tech Mobility Show.
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Speaker 2:Social media is the main place to be these days, and we are no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Facebook videos, from my latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary of a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight. You. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Facebook. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to our Facebook page. Social media is the place to be these days, and we're no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight. You Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar. For those of you that listen to podcasts, we have just the one for you. Hi, I'm Ken Chester. Tech Mobility Topics is a podcast where I upload topic-specific videos each week. Shorter than a full show. These bite-sized programs are just the thing, particularly if you're interested in a particular topic covered on the weekly radio show, from Apple Podcasts to iHeartRadio and many podcast platforms in between, we got you covered. Just enter Tech Mobility Topics in the search bar, wherever you listen to podcasts.
Speaker 2:From a long line of legendary coupes comes the CLS, the world's first ever four-door coupe. That was a Mercedes-Benz commercial from 2005. Mercedes has always been about evolution and not revolution, and they've been about longevity. And most dyed-in-the-wool Mercedes owners usually don't buy them. At least they didn't used to Buy a Mercedes for prestige. They bought it because they planned to hold it 25, 30 years and they knew the vehicle would last that long, unlike today where it's a whole different ballgame. But even back then, as they were trying to make the vehicles more affordable to create the next group of buyers that would grow into the brand still evolutionary, not revolutionary, and that best describes all the old, traditional European automakers. Mostly all of them are evolutional, not revolution, and that was the thing that was their stock and trade. So Mercedes-Benz. And that was the thing that was their stock and trade. So Mercedes-Benz.
Speaker 2:With the growth of electric vehicles, demand, demand for power-hungry data centers and the need for Jews to power energy-intensive AI initiatives, the US Department of Energy has placed the development of advanced nuclear reactor designs on a fast track. But what does this mean for the nation's power grid and, more importantly, the availability and price of that power? This is topic A. Let's take a step back. Let me take you back some 40, 50 years. A lot of folks don't remember, but those of us that were alive do remember 1979. Little place in Pennsylvania called Three Mile Island.
Speaker 2:The beleaguered nuclear power industry, which started on the promise of clean, limitless energy, ran into problems and budget overruns and collapsed. More than one utility in trying to cover it, and I'm thinking about Seabrook. I grew up in New England. Seabrook 1 and 2 were nuclear power plants that were supposed to come online. Our local utility owned a part of that. It would end up contributing to their bankruptcy and getting bought out by somebody else. The traditional nuclear power industry today in the United States still provides 18% of the electric power in the United States of America.
Speaker 2:Bet you didn't realize it was that high. Here's something else you didn't know. You probably would think well, they haven't built new nuclear power plants in forever. That wouldn't be true either. Utility down in Georgia brought online four years ago the most recent, what I would call traditionally built nuclear power plant. Now, why say traditional? They're large, they were expensive, they were prone to cost overruns, reams and reams, and reams and reams of safety issues that they had to satisfy. You had to have specialized knowledge to build them, specialized people to weld certain things, they had to be inspected. There was all kinds of problems. So what's different? Now? That wasn't then.
Speaker 2:Well, if you followed this program, you might remember me talking about what they call small modular reactors or SMRs. These are significantly smaller. These are significantly smaller nuclear plants that cost way less to build, are more easy and are built on existing technologies. In other words, the need for all the specialized skills that we've lost over the last 40 years because we haven't been building nuclear power plants at scale. So all those people who had that knowledge that was required, important, necessary in helping to build a nuclear power plant, that's gone. So in the midst of having to train new people, they came up with plans.
Speaker 2:Now I have to tell you there is not a single SMR generating power in the United States at this time. Canada is bringing one online. They're testing. There's been a lot of applications before the Nuclear Energy Commission and, of course, our government labs that deal with this stuff. They've been tinkering around with it for years, but again, there is none online in the United States yet. So this DOE program would oversee pilots conducted outside of the national laboratories. And while numerous small modular reactor nuclear startups are pursuing approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Design and Construction permits which is still, even for the smaller ones, pretty comprehensive in itself the Federal Department of Energy is starting a new pilot program to expedite testing of advanced reactor designs under its direct supervision and, like I said, this program will oversee pilot projects conducted outside of the national laboratories, such as Idaho and Oak Ridge, which are also doing small nuclear reactor collaborations. So here's the thing Will we ever see one? Well, that's what these permits are doing. They're trying to build them, test them, run them at scale and see what happens in controlled situations. Here's something that you might not know the Idaho National Laboratory, the nation's primary research facility for testing new reactor designs, has not built one since the 1970s. Meanwhile, there are companies that are already working to move forward with advanced and SMR designs. Notice the difference, because SMR is not the only design being pursued. But there's a list Elo, atomics X Energy Terra Power, nuscale Power, okolo and Natura Resources, among others. The first one, alo Atomics, is based in Austin and in Idaho and they're already directly working with the Department of Energy and they think they can get things done.
Speaker 2:Now, nuclear energy, uranium is still a dangerous material. It's radioactive, it has a half-life that is beyond anybody currently walking the planet ever. And we don't have an official, actual, permanent storage for this stuff. Yes, we talked about Yucca Mountain, but Yucca Mountain's been tied up in lawsuits forever. There is no material stored there at this time and people who are concerned about nuclear power have legitimate concerns. How safe is it? What is your safety protocol? What are you going to do if things go sideways? What is your plan to minimize harm to the environment, harm to people, harm to our planet? Something worth asking and they're asking Now. In the days before, that ask added a lot of time and a lot of cost overruns and a lot of companies went broke trying to bring these to pass, and even the one that came online with Georgia was years late and billions over budget. But the SMR is one of the advanced technologies that promises to offer a solution, but you're not looking at this year. You're not looking at next year. Conceivably, the projects will be online by the end of this decade, if everything goes well. You're probably looking at maybe 10, 15 years before these become an integral part of our power grid. We'll see Bad news the world is running out of clean water. Good news there's a technology that can fix it. This is the Tech of clean water. Good news there's a technology that can fix it.
Speaker 2:This is the Tech Mobility Show. Do you listen to podcasts? Seems that most people do. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. If you've missed any of our weekly episodes on the radio, our podcast is a great way to listen. You can find the Tech Mobility podcast just about anywhere. You can enjoy podcasts. Be sure to follow us from Apple Podcasts, iheart Radio and many platforms in between. We are there. Just enter the Tech Mobility podcast in the search bar. Wherever you listen to podcasts, social media it's the place to be. We, no exception. Hi, I'm ken chester, host the tech mobility show several times a week. I post to tiktok several of the topics that I cover on my weekly radio show. It's another way to keep up on mobility, technology news and information. I've built quite a library of short videos for your viewing pleasure, so be sure to watch, like and subscribe. That's the tech mobility show on tiktok. Check it out.
Speaker 2:I start this segment with a startling fact. Did you know that half of the over 7 billion people currently inhabiting planet Earth experience severe water scarcity for at least one month each year? And that's according to the United Nations, that's 3.5 billion people don't have access to water one month out of every 12. Let that sink in A radical new kind of desalination technology. Desalination, big word is finally on the cusp of helping to resolve this problem.
Speaker 2:This is topic B. The old adage water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink. We live in a world of water. Our bodies are mostly water. We use water for everything. We freeze it, we turn it for everything. We freeze it, we turn it into steam, we boil it, we cool it. It runs, it don't run. We recycle it, we process it. We use it in manufacturing. We use it to boil vegetables to cook with. We use it to clean with, whether we're cleaning our house or cleaning ourselves. We use it to drink, to nourish our bodies, because we need water to survive.
Speaker 2:Water is integral to the very existence of mankind on this planet, regardless of where you are on the spectrum, whether you're surviving running a company cooking a meal, you're surviving running a company cooking a meal, getting cleaned up, getting ready for work, cleaning up your kids, processing you name it Everything from food to steel to whatever needs water. It is the most ingenious liquid ever. Talk about perfect design and beautiful design. Water does it all in every bit of its different configurations.
Speaker 2:Yet 3.5 billion people on this planet, on terra firma, on planet earth, on terra firma, on planet Earth, don't have access to water Out of 365 days a year. For at least 30 days a year almost 10% of their yearly existence they don't have access to water and your body can't go but a week without it. Yet they go four weeks without it. So where am I going with this? Water scarcity is projected to become much more acute in the coming decades owing to more extreme weather patterns, the dissemination of the world's aquifers, saltwater incursion because when you pull that much water out, it sucks the saltwater in and contaminates it and growing urban populations. This threatens humanity at a fundamental level, and not just because we need water to drink, but without it there's no food or manufacturing and very little electricity. Now for decades to bring water to places that don't have it.
Speaker 2:Desalination has been the only reason places from the Caribbean to the Emirates have been habitable, that they could survive out there in the desert, but it's always been a solution of last resort for one big reason it's expensive. It's horr's expensive. It's horrifically expensive If you're near the ocean. What they're doing, whether you're in California or Saudi Arabia, is on land. Engineers would literally boil the ocean, pull the water in, boil it, creating steam that would become drinking water and, on its way, drive some power generating turbines to pay back a bit of the cost. It was so energy intensive that in the 1960s, some proposed using nuclear power to do it, and the world's largest plant in Saudi Arabia produces much of its water through evaporation and this is an older technology, but, like they say, there's a solution for that.
Speaker 2:And around 2000, about 25 years ago, reverse osmosis changed everything. In this process, water is forced through a plastic membrane with holes so tiny that only water molecules fit through, leaving behind salt and other impurities. This process requires about half the energy, making it a credible option for Trinidad, which in 2002 got a plant that now produces 40 million gallons of water a day, and Israel, which got one in 2005 and now produces 85 million gallons of water a day. And many more plants followed.
Speaker 2:And now this is the standard way to desalinate water, because you can't drink ocean water. The salt content's too high and would actually poison you. You need clean, desalted water, purified. That's what your body requires, and most of these processes, because any contaminants would foul manufacturing processes, all sorts of things. It is still expensive compared with traditional water sources like reservoirs and aquifers between $2 and $6 per thousand gallons, and a lot of that cost depends on the cost of electricity where you live. So there are other costs that are non-financial. Intakes can suck up marine life. Outflow pipes can dump a concentrated brine hazardous to the same marine life back into the sea, and these issues led California to say no to a plan in Huntington Beach that needed it.
Speaker 2:So what are they doing? Still need water, though. Still need water though Oslo-based Flossien it's a Netherlands-based water rise and Bay Area-based ocean. Well, are companies that have jumped on this new idea of desalinization that's submerged at a depth of 400 meters. Here's what they're talking about. Instead of expending huge amounts of energy to pump seawater onto land and then pressurize it inside of a plant, why not take advantage of the ocean's extreme natural pressure? At depth, seawater naturally wants to cross a desalination membrane, so as long as the freshwater is on one side, it's being pumped to the surface Bottom line. There is a net energy savings of 40%, making it even more doable, and there are other big advantages. These facilities can be far offshore and out of sight, so there's no competition for beachfront property. And once in place, the systems can be scaled up without ever having to negotiate over real estate, which keeps the costs down. And because the process happens down so deep, the salty brine byproduct is quickly dispersed in the ocean without harming aquatic plants or animals. And at that depth the ocean is cleaner, free of the microorganisms and, pardon me, fish, poop and other debris that can quickly foul a reverse osmosis membrane. It's cleaner. The resulting pressure, the natural pressure down that deep makes the thing work and you save 40%. Sounds like a great starter, but despite the technology's promise, three companies only built modest facilities to prove their value to potential customers. They really want to cut a deal with the government because they've got the deep pockets necessary to develop the projects. But here's something this article does not ask. If you are removing that much water every single day out of an ocean at some point, doesn't that have its own problems? I mean, if you got enough people with these systems, maybe in 15, 20 years, pulling ocean water out to desalinize, to make it drinkable, usable for folks around the world, what happens to the oceans? Does the normal cycle of replenishment negate that? Nobody's answered that question. Negate that Nobody's answered that question. Because at some point an action gets an opposite and equal reaction. And if you're pulling that much water out, what's going on? What is the reaction to marine life, the ocean levels and everything else that's going on, and does that make climate change worse? Does that compound a problem? Dunno, amazon. And does that make climate change worse? Does that compound a problem? Don't know. Amazon is playing catch up to Waymo when it comes to robo-taxi deployment.
Speaker 2:We are the Tech Mobility Show. To learn more about the Tech Mobility Show, start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Start by visiting our website. Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. The website is a treasure trove of information about me and the show, as well as where to find it on the radio across the country. Keep up with the happenings of the Tech Mobility Show by visiting techmobilityshow. That's techmobilityshow. You can also drop us a line at talk at techmobilityshow. Did you know that Tech Mobility has a YouTube channel? Hi, I'm Ken Chester, host of the Tech Mobility Show. Each week, I upload a few short videos of some of the hot topics that I cover during my weekly radio program. I've designed these videos to be informative and entertaining. It's another way to keep up on current mobility and technology news and information. Be sure to watch, like and subscribe to my channel. That's the Tech Mobility Show on YouTube.
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Speaker 2:Social media is the place to be these days, and we're no exception. I'm Ken Chester of the Tech Mobility Show. If you enjoy my program, then you will also enjoy my weekly Instagram videos, from the latest vehicle reviews to timely commentary on a variety of mobility and technology-related topics. These short features are designed to inform and delight you. Be sure to watch, like and follow us on Instagram. You can find us by typing the Tech Mobility Show in the search bar.
Speaker 2:Robotaxis, moving small groups of people to destinations across and around select American cities, was the way that major automakers and leaders in the space like Waymo and Uber at the time envisioned how autonomous vehicles would be introduced to the American populace at large. Now that was about eight years ago and since then a lot has changed. Many companies have dropped out of this space, recalibrated their tech towards commercial trucking. Why? Because they found out it was a lot harder to count for all the variables in one and one average mile of travel, that as human beings we're pretty complex individuals to deal with all this stuff in a mile of driving. And they had to put that all in some kind of way. And it wasn't working all that well because anything could happen and they were trying to engineer for everything and anything which of course you do that you're going to end up coming at cross goals and cross needs for that. So a lot of companies dropped back. Waymo is the pioneer and, for the record, is the only company in the United States right now operating every day an actual not pilot but actual commercial autonomous robo-taxi service. Three cities they're doing that right now San Francisco, austin and Phoenix. They do it right now. They move hundreds of thousands of people every week right now In the space. They were first their little car which went around Mountain View, around their campus, with a top speed of 25 miles an hour. They've come a long ways, and that was 2009 before everybody else jumped in. They were, and still are. First, amazon has decided that they want a piece of this action and they're playing catch-up. They're playing hard, they're throwing some hard money at this thing. So let me back up. Amazon is just not it's not a wild hair. They actually bought a robo-taxi company called Zoox that's Z-O-O-X a number of years ago, back in well, in 2020, for $1.3 billion, and they plan to start public rides in Las Vegas this year. At the same time, the driverless taxi sector is seeing increased competition. Waymo's expanding to new cities. Taxi sector is seeing increased competition. Waymo is expanding to new cities, and you may have heard that Tesla is actually finally rolling out their robo taxi service and they're scheduled to launch in Texas this month.
Speaker 2:Now let me stop right here. You might be wondering, gee Ken, what is up with Texas and Arizona? Why, when we talk about autonomous vehicles, whether they're autonomous trucks, autonomous cars it's always Texas and Arizona? What's up? Is it the climate? Well, that's part of it. Also, part of it is a very. How do we put this I don't want to use the word lax, let's just say less rigid regulatory environment that permits these folks to do the tests that they do and actually go into business. That other states are more stringent and demanding, and they've covered a lot of miles.
Speaker 2:Most of what we know about autonomous vehicles in the United States of America was developed in hard miles in three states primarily and these weren't the only states, but this is where most of it happened, and that's Texas and Arizona, for sure, and, to a lesser extent, california. California had a lot more robust standards, so typically, texas and Arizona became the de facto place. It's where Waymo actually launched this service. It's where most of your autonomous trucks actually operate and will actually go commercial in the next year or so. They're a lot closer. Do you remember Maven? You probably don't, and if you don't, it's okay. Gm was looking at launching a robo-taxi service, at launching a robo-taxi service and actually, before they bought Aurora not Aurora, I'm sorry before they bought Cruise Automation for a billion dollars, they were looking at launching Maven, which was a robo-taxi service, back in 2017, 2018. And, as you remember, it did not happen. Wasn't ready for prime time then. But, like anything today, with technology moving at lightning speed with the growth of AI, which is definitely helping in this case. More and more companies are finding a path to get into it.
Speaker 2:Why a robo-taxi? Well, one, it's a way to make money on a technology up front. Number two we still do not have specific federal laws regarding autonomous vehicles. We have guidelines put out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and these guidelines first came out let's see in 2013, 2014. They published three different sets up to about 2017. But they weren't guidelines, they weren't rules, they weren't laws, they weren't requirements. And even Waymo now, and these companies looking to launch these robo-taxis are operating from waivers from NHTSA that waives certain federal motor vehicle safety standards, like the need, if it's a vehicle on a public highway, it has to have foot pedal controls. It has to have controls for a human being, which a robo-taxi doesn't need a human being. So you don't need a gas pedal, a brake, a steering wheel, a turn signal, a switch to turn on the headlights All unnecessary Shoot. A switch to turn on the headlights All unnecessary Shoot. A switch to turn on the windshield wipers All unnecessary. There's no human driving, they don't need it, so they had to get waivers for that.
Speaker 2:Billions and billions and billions and billions of dollars. If you think the auto industry is capital intensive, let me help you. Going to autonomous vehicles is the next step. And no, it is not for underfunded folk. It is not for folk that need a payback in two years. It's folks that's in it to win it for the long haul and has the money to sustain because it's going to take a while. Sustain because it's going to take a while. But as they're scaling up, in the case of Amazon and Zoops, they plan to build 10,000 robo taxis a year within the next two years, next two years. They already have worked a deal in Las Vegas with let me get it now because I want to make sure we get this right I believe the name of the hotel Resorts World Las Vegas.
Speaker 2:Early days, early adopters will get a chance to experience an Amazon robo-taxi when you stay there, and it's not going to be everybody.
Speaker 2:You literally, in this case, because they're launching it out slow will have to sign up for it, but it's a big deal and, trust me, the only reason why any of these companies are in it is they've looked at the future and they've decided that robo-taxis there's money in it at some point, but they need to spend the money to make the money. And you're looking at 10, 15 years before they break even. And bear in mind, waymo already has 15 years in, 16 actually already, and it's probably going to take another five or six at the minimum. And they're the leaders. Everybody else is following suit.
Speaker 2:It's going to take them a while, but robo taxis are coming. And it's going to take them a while, but robo-taxis are coming and, in case, in way mode, they're here and there's going to be more of them. So, in case you thought autonomous vehicles were dead, eh, not exactly, not quite yet, not exactly, just a little slower rollout. But they are coming and you will experience it. You might even see one if you're in Vegas or Austin or Phoenix or God forbid San Francisco.
